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[quote=Anonymous]I'm not religious, but always liked the serenity prayer. I've been known to say it to myself, not as a way of asking God or any higher power for anything, but as a way of focusing my own thoughts and making a conscious decision whether the situation calls for acceptance or action.

For, praying (and again, take this with a grain of salt because I am not religious) is about focusing one's mind.  Group prayer, like this "keep xxx in your prayers" type of thing, it's about strengthening a sense of community and surrounding the subject with love and emotional support. If you keep them in your prayers, you'll be more likely to think about them consistently, which means you'll be more likely to check in with them, visit with them, etc. You are showing them that you care (which of course can be done in many ways, prayer is just one of them). So it's not that the prayer itself really does anything, it's the effect that the act of praying has on the person doing the praying and what it means to the person being prayed about.

I'm sure it's different if you believe there is really someone or something out there listening to the prayer.[/quote]

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